Packing for fragile articles



June 2, 1931. F. D. GRAY PACKING FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed May 9, 1929 Q Q Q QQQQQQQQ Q .6 Q @Q Q Q Q Q Q E l. g gvwanboz Patented June 2, 1931 UNITED STATES PATEQNT: OFFICE FRED n. GRAY, or HERKIMER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 'ro HoLnD-TITE PACKING coa- PORATION, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK PACKING- FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Application filed May 9,

The present improvements relate, in general, to packing for fragile articles,and more particularly to a protective lining for collapsible containers in which fragile or sensif' tive articles are packed and shipped, e. g.,

an outer wrapper instead of excelsior, felt or the like.

A-further object is to provide a packing for collapsible containers which may be readily applied or removed with ease and one which.

will serve not only as a shock absorbing lining but also as an inner wall surface.

A still further object is to provide packing of the aforementioned type which is formed in one manufacturing operation, is

economical to manufacture and which possesses combined characteristics of rigidity and resiliency thereby affording support as well as a cushioning effect to the enclosed container or containers.

Another object of the improvements is to provide a protective covering, for fragile article containers, having projecting means serving as pivots or legs bywhich the packing may be readily flexed thereby producing a novel shock cushioning effect.

To improve packing means, in general, obtain greater efiiciency therefrom as well as to reduce breakage of packed articles and reduce manufacturing operations and costs, constitute further objects of the improve ments. I

Other objects and advantages of the present improvements will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the accompanying specification and drawings, in which A I Fig. 1 is a perspective of an open container, illustrating'one application of the present improvements; I

1929. Serial No. 361,626.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one form of the improved packing member; 7

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified for In practicing the present improvements, the packing is formed of cardboard, wood pulp or other similar material. Preferably the pulp sucking process is' employed wherein the sheets and the projecting portions thereon are formed by one and the same process so that a one piece member is produced.

In forming the sheet and parts thereof, Wood pulp, cellulose or other fibrous material is employed, the fibres being first placed in a liquid bath. Maceratedpaper, thoroughly disintegrated and mixed with water until it has the consistency of thick soup may be employed, as may other similar materials. The formation of the sheets may then be accomplished by molding or felting by means of suitable dies or molds, whereby" a sheet of' relatively yieldable material results, with the hereinafter mentioned protuberances therein, all consisting of intimately matted fibres.

- These sheets and cushions therein are of such form and are so constructed and arranged as to be relatively rigid, and yet have date themselves to pressure exerted thereon. Moreover the nature of the construction insures proper and accurate form and the preservation of that form in use, since any pressure on the sheet or any part thereof w1ll tend to move its matted fibres from their normal position into a more intimate union and will be constantly resisted thereby, to the end that the parts will always have tendency to return to their original form,i which causesthem to exert a counter pressure when slight- 1y pressed or drawn therefrom. An inherent resilience and elasticity is thus present in the sheets and parts thus formed resultin in-a cushioning effect under the influence of pressure.

Referring to the drawings, the sheet 5, I formedain the foregoing manner, comprises the flat central portion 6,fiat rim portlons 7 and a countersunk area consisting, in the illustrated embodiment, of a row of dome or cup shaped members 8. It is notable that a suflicient degree of elasticity to accommo-- these members provide an annular border about the sheet, being positioned between the flat portions 6 and 7.

Upon reference to Fig. 3 the contour of the dome members is clearly observed. These members protrude from one face of the sheet 5, so that when the sheet is contacting an adjacent surface, said domes 8 serve as legs to support or space the fiatportions of the sheet from such surface.

While the improvements have been illustrated with protruding members of dome shape, it is apparent that said members may take various shapes,.the number thereof being .increased, decreased or variously arranged,

illustrated, likewise possesses a certain degree of rigidity whereby the desired form is preserved, so that crushing and flattening of the protruding portions is substantially eliminated.

In use, the sheets function with a spring or flexing effect, one application of the improvements being illustrated in Fig. 1. A shipping crate or carton 10 is shown lined with a plurality of sheets 5. One is placed on the bottom (not shown), one on each of the four sides and one (not shown) on the top after the contents are packed, over which the flaps 11 are folded. As illustrated, the sheets are placed so that the dome shaped members contact the inner sides of the carton. By thus positioning these members, the smooth faces of the sheets 5, afford unobstructed false walls between which may be packed a plurality of small containers 12, containing individual fragile articles, such as radio tubes, incandescent light bulbs, or the like.

In the illustration in Fig. 1, several of the the plane on which the dome members rest,

those portions are free to flex and spring back within certain limits. Accordingly, shocks are experienced and distributed throughout the entire sheet, by reason of the flexing thereof. This bending of the sheet away from its normal flat plane causes the entire sheet to act as a leaf spring, which returns to its normal position upon release of the pressure from the shock. It is notable that the flexing and spring action of the sheets will result whether the shocks are experienced near the edges or elsewhere "throughout same. The foregoing shock absorbing and distributing feature resulting from the novel shape of the sheets, is augmented by the texture thereof which increases the efiicacy of the improvements. The importance of the bulged areas functioning as pivots for the sheets cannot be overemphasized.

In the modified form in Fig. 4, additional dome members 8 are provided across the center of the sheet 15. This form is adapted for use in larger cartons, wherein the flexing and spring action thereof is the same as described with regard to the form in Fig. 2. Various other arrangements of the members 8 throughout the sheet, may be made without departing from the scope of the present 11nprovements.

Attention is directed to the fact that in each form, a portion of each container 12 is faced by some of the cushion members 8. This feature is clearly seen in Fig. 1, and insures added cushioning effect for each individual container. As aforementioned, aside from serving as pivots, the dome members possess inherent elasticity as well as rigidity so that when forced under pressure they resist same and tend to'preserve their original form.

It is seen from the foregoing description, that the sheets 5 and15 may be readily inserted or removed and require minimum handling while packing and unpacking. Furthermore, they serve as efficient and sanitary packing members, thereby eliminating undesirable features of excelsion, felt, etc., without sacrificing any advantages thereof, but in fact increasing the efficiency and affording additional advantages. 1

Handling and shipping the sheets is great- 1y facilitated since they may be stacked, one

upon the other, with the dome shaped members of one nested in similar members of sheets above and below them. A substantial number of these sheets, thus occupy a relatively small space and may be economically shipped to fragile article manufacturers for use in shipping containers. The light weight of the sheets, as formed after the manner herein described, is of marked advantage to shippers of goods since the gross weight of the packed container is materially -reduced with the consequent reduction in shipping charges. i

, Various other advantages and modifications of the "present improvements within the scope of the invention, may occur to those skilled in the art. It is understood that the improvements are not limited to the embodiments illustrated and described.-

I claim:

1. A resilient lining member for packing containers comprising a sheet of yieldable material, the major portion of said sheet having fiat uninterrupted faces, one of said faces having its fiat area centrally of the sheet and constituting the major portion of the face, said face having a bordering row of protuberances bulged from the sheet, the flat area of such face being greater than the bulged area thereof whereby the sheet may fiex at the region within said bordering row.

2. A resilient lining member for packing containers comprising a sheet of yieldable material having one face flat throughout,

the other face of said sheet having a flat central area constituting the major portion of said face, and protruding members bulged from said last named face, said members being arranged as a border about said flat central area.

3. A resilient lining member for packing containers comprising a rectangular sheet of yieldable material having one face flat throughout, the other face'of said sheet having a flat central area constituting the major portion of said face, and dome shaped protruding members bulged from the corners of said last named face whereby the sheet may flex at the flat central portion defined by said dome shaped members.

Witness my hand this 3rd day of May, 1929, county of Herkimer, State of New York.

FRED D. GRAY. 

